


wish

by CrazyPrepared (writerofberk)



Series: have yourself a merry little christmas [12]
Category: Trolls (Movies 2016 2020)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:55:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28293441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writerofberk/pseuds/CrazyPrepared
Summary: "Okay, everyone!" Poppy bounces up and down beside him, her candle cupped in her hands and her face all lit up with the soft, warm glow. "Make a wish!"Branch doesn't actually know what he's going to wish for.He doesn't know what he has left to wish for.
Series: have yourself a merry little christmas [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2053290
Comments: 32
Kudos: 35





	wish

There are two hundred and forty-four candles around the tree this year.

There are _always_ two hundred and forty-four candles around the tree, year on year on year, because there is always one candle for every last troll in the town, year on year on year, and Branch can't ever tell if the burn in his chest is hope—because maybe maybe _maybe_ if there's room for his candle under the tree, that means there's room for _him_ , too, maybe that means he can _belong_ here, maybe that means he already does—or fury, because why would they put out a candle for him, why would they ever put out a stupid candle for him when they all know he's not going to _use_ it, he's _never_ going to use it, he hasn't used his candle since he was five years old and King Peppy put the yellow-white tallow taper in his tiny grey hands and said _make a wish_ and he shut his eyes tight as he could and he whispered, heart pounding and fingers shaking around the smooth, warm wax, _I wish for my grandma to come back_.

And he knew, even all the way back then, five years old and hoping so hard it hurt, with his pounding heart and his shaking hands and his skin the color of a storm, he knew, even as he blew out the little golden flame burning at the top, that his wish would never come true.

But he's here.

He's here now, nineteen years too late, with his candle in his hands, standing around the tree with the whole town, and his heart is pounding and his hands are shaking, but his skin's the color of the sky again, and it looks like there might be room for him here after all.

"Okay, everyone!" Poppy bounces up and down beside him, her candle cupped in her hands and her face all lit up with the soft, warm glow. "Make a wish!"

Branch doesn't actually know what he's going to wish for.

He doesn't know what he has _left_ to wish for.

Everyone is safe from the Bergens now—he still wakes up with cold sweat on his face and a scream on his lips, he still wakes up with the panic so thick in his throat he can't even breathe, he still wakes up and he still thinks _what if it was real, what if it wasn't just a dream, what if the whole town is dead, what if I'm the only one left, just like last time_ , but it's _not_ , it _never_ is, and now that the Bergens know they can be happy all on their own, it's never _going_ to be real, it's never going to be anything more than just a dream, _he doesn't have to be_ _scared_ anymore.

And he has _friends_ now—there are real, actual trolls who talk to him and listen to him and ask him to come to their party and ask him to come over for dinner and ask him to come out and dance with them, and they _like_ him, and they don't care that he's—that he's _weird_ , that he's not like normal trolls, that he'll _never_ be like normal trolls, they don't care that twenty years ago, something went _wrong_ inside his head and it will never get fixed, it will never get put right, he's _always_ going to be like this, and he has real, actual friends who _don't_ _care_ about that.

And Poppy—he can still taste that first kiss she gave him in her kitchen that day, and she's kissed him every single day since, and she holds his hand and she smiles at him and she talks to him, tells him about her day and shows him her new scrapbooks and she doesn't mind that he doesn't always talk back, that sometimes he _can't_ talk back, sometimes it's all he can do to _breathe_ in the grey haze that hangs over him like a storm, she knows that and she _doesn't_ _care_. She just stays beside him and she holds his hand and she lets him breathe.

Of course, he still wants his family back.

He still wants his family to be here with him—more than he's ever wanted anything in his life, more than he's ever wanted to be safe from the Bergens or to have friends or to be with Poppy, more than _anything in the world_ , he _just_ wants his family back, he just wants his family _here_ with him, but—

—but he looks down at the thin rainbow bracelet on his wrist (light purple and blue-green and off-white and sparkling silver and deep orange and bright pink) and he looks at the Pack all around him, and he thinks, maybe, they kind of already are.

It's a good thing they're all looking down at their candles, so they can't see the stupid, silly, beaming smile spreading over his face.

Things are good now.

He's _happy_ now.

And he has nothing left to wish for.

So he shuts his eyes and he wishes for _this, always, forever, just this, please._

He blows out his candle.

* * *

"So what did you guys wish for?" Poppy says, on the way back to her pod, with her hand in his, and a bright, beaming smile on her face. "Don't keep a girl in suspense!"

"For Mr. Dinkles to always know how loved and cherished he is!" Biggie squeezes the little worm tight to his chest and presses a light kiss to the top of the glittery yellow head.

"To build up some more muscle!" Smidge flexes her bicep. "To get even better at hugging my friends!"

"Oh, Smidge!" Biggie beams at her before he scoops her up in his arms. "You're already perfect at that!"

DJ Suki taps her big purple headphones. "To discover more new music this year!"

"To keep making awesome clothes and having fun with Chenille!" Satin throws an arm around her sister.

"For Satin to learn about _personal_ _space_ ," Chenille huffs and pushes her off, but in the soft glow of the lights all around them, Branch can see the small smile on her pretty face.

"That I will be this radiant and beautiful until the day I die," Guy says. "But I guess I don't need to _wish_ that. It's bound to happen. For hair's sake, look at me."

"Maybe you should have wished for a little humility," Branch says.

"Never heard of it."

Poppy laughs. "And _I_ wished for another year full of adventures with my best friends!"

"So long as our adventures don't include any more near-death experiences."

"You are no fun, Branch." She squeezes his hand a little tighter and tips her head to look at him. "What'd _you_ wish for?"

Branch tosses her a small smile. "If I tell you, it won't come true."

And he really, _really_ wants this one to come true.

**Author's Note:**

> and that's a wrap!!!!
> 
> GOD thank you guys so much for sticking with me so long, and seeing this through all the way to the end with me!!! i knew there was a pretty good chance no one would like this, so i was absolutely blown away by all the support and positivity and kindness i received right off the bat. thank you guys so much, this was such a fun (if exhausting) ride!!! 
> 
> also please know i am reading all your comments and LIVING for them, 110%, but i gotta post this and run, 'cause holidays, but i'll try and get back on sometime tonight to respond to everyone!!


End file.
